The role of a salesperson has changed dramatically in light of the information economy. Consumers have an endless supply of information at their fingertips. However, that information may not always be accurate, leading to misconceptions about your product or service. Fortunately, this environment has made way for the modern salesperson who takes a consultative, educational approach to understand a client’s needs and drive new business into their firm. As an inbound marketing strategist in a sales position, I want to give you my advice on how to succeed in this new era of sales.

Become an Expert in Your Field

Our firm operates in the highly competitive niche of inbound marketing. So when a prospect comes in with a need for inbound marketing, they already have a pretty good understanding of what they want.

However, there are tons of misconceptions in our industry that need to be cleared up before we can move forward, which leads to a whole lot of questions from clients.

“Will SEO get my website to the top of Google?”

“Does my business need to be on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest?”

In order to find the right solution for these clients and help them see why it’s best for their business, a great deal of client education takes place during the sales meeting.

Too often I see and hear about salespeople in this industry who try to recommend SEO or website redesigns with little knowledge of the service and why it’s right for their client. And unfortunately, while these salespeople are supposed to be in a position of educating businesses on the right inbound marketing strategy, they themselves fail to grasp the benefits of the solution.

Scary as it may be, there’s a responsibility that comes along with being a salesperson. That responsibility involves becoming an expert on your subject area and knowing as much as possible about that topic so that you can teach clients.

Once you’ve earned that status as a thought leader in your subject area, you’re clients will entrust you with their brand’s best interest.

Stop Pitching and Start Listening

One of my biggest pet peeves with old-school salespeople is their reliance on shock and awe tactics. In other words, they storm into a meeting and verbally dominate the room like they’re at an auction trying to sell a used car.

Inevitably, this looks like a pitch.

And it can put clients in a very uncomfortable situation.

So here’s a little secret: if you want to understand what your clients’ needs, scrap the “pitch” and turn the mic over to your client.

Let them speak. Let them talk about their needs so you can get to the heart of what they really need in order to become more successful!

For me, I understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to inbound marketing. Every business has its unique selling points (USPs), and my goal as a salesperson is to scope out and promote those USPs so my client can improve their ROI.

Become an Extension of Your Clients’ Business

As an inbound marketing strategist I consider myself a part of my clients’ business. Whether I’m developing a website redesign strategy or creating an SEO program, I know that these recommendations will impact the success of their business.

If a client is considering a website redesign then I need to educate them on the benefits of Responsive Web Design and be able to describe how this will help them target the mobile visitor, improve their SEO, and enhance their visitors’ experience.

At the same time, if these recommendations fail, I know that I’m accountable for those shortfalls.

I need to treat myself as if I were part of their internal marketing department and know that my recommendations will impact their bottom line.

Find Your Passion

Seriously- if you aren’t in love with what you sell, then find a new job!

Find your passion and do whatever it takes to achieve it.

I was unhappy at my previous position and head-over-heels for inbound marketing. I wanted to do consulting on a full-time basis so I could help other businesses see the importance of having a great website, expanding their presence in the search engines with SEO, and creating great content.

In order to do that I needed to network and research new opportunities so I could be where I am today.

With an unyielding passion for inbound marketing, I’ve never looked back. And I’m happier than EVER.

Share Your Thoughts

What attributes, traits or other techniques have you found helpful in succeeding as a salesperson in the information economy? I’d love to get your perspective in the comments below.

Sacrifice is one of the most honorable traits of a leader. In his book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” John Maxwell states that “a leader must give up to go up.” From the business world to community groups, being able to put the needs of others ahead of your own is a surefire way to build autonomy and tear down the boundaries to growth. I’ve seen many leaders (or, people in positions of leadership) throughout my young career do incredible things to help the group, while others tend to focus on themselves without seeing the bigger picture.

Sacrifice Often Works Best in the Beginning

I remember when I first started my career as an inbound marketing strategist- stepping into the position with little consulting experience.

While I was incredibly knowledgable on inbound marketing, my mentor knew that in order for me to excel in a consulting position I needed to experience first-hand what a great consultation looked like. As a result, she asked me to shadow her during a series of client meetings (whether they be in-person or online meetings).

After a few short weeks I had a much stronger understanding of how to guide a conversation, entice clients to open up the dialogue, and thoroughly describe how our services would benefit their particular company’s marketing objectives. I learned how to follow-up with clients and how to negotiate deals that would benefit both firms and lead to long-term relationships. And, not surprisingly, I was reminded that in order to help yourself, you must first help others.

A leader must give up to go up. – John Maxwell

Clearly, the time that was allocated to training me on how to become a better marketing strategist was time she would have ordinarily spent fulfilling her own goals. But this was an investment that would help make the company more efficient.

And how did this help her?

Over time, I had fewer and fewer questions and became more autonomous in my position. I felt confident guiding the meeting and prompting clients to open up so we could better understand their marketing needs and opportunities.

As a result, this training made me a more effective marketing strategist and allowed her to return to her other goals. It wasn’t long after those early days of sacrifice that I was running meetings on my own and pulling in significant amounts of new business for our firm.

It Starts at the Top

Whether you’re managing a salesteam of 50 people or managing a team of 3 copywriters, in order to help your team reach their goals you must be willing to put their needs ahead of your own if you want the group to reach new limits. As a leader, this means you should be thinking about how to improve their performance, not just your own.

Yes, you will need to put your own needs on hold temporarily. For example, the manager of a salesteam who steamrolls over others to gain a “look at me” acknowledgement is nothing noble when the people him are falling short of their own goals. This merely accentuates the gap between his performance and theirs, and deters from the company’s goal of having everyone enhance their own contributions.

However, a sacrifice upfront means you will have to spend less time in the future going back and trying to resolve lapses in performance. Once they become more autonomous and can meet their own objectives, you will have the freedom to return to your own goals. When everyone is effective at in their role, the group tends to function a lot better (you can easily draw the analogy to a car and its numerous parts- if the tires are flat, the car will go nowhere).

One of the major benefits of this is that sacrifice has a trickle-down effect. When people see you making sacrifices to help others, they can be inspired to do the same and know that they’re contributing to a common goal.

I’ve learned more and more to make sacrifices so that I can improve the performance of those around me. Whether it’s sharing a list of inspiring websites with our design team to add some flavor to their creativity or reviewing new statistics in the mobile marketplace with a fellow strategist, it’s time I can give them today so that they’re more effective tomorrow.

Your Thoughts

When was the last time you saw someone making a sacrifice in their role to better the group? What difference did it make for the group as a whole?

Jump in, my friends. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

As a presenter or speaker one of your objectives is to grab and maintain the audience’s attention. Lose them, and you’ve lost your point. By adding a simple yet powerful black slide into your presentation, you’ll find yourself surrounded by an audience that holds on to your every last word. Discover how exactly this black slide technique can help you become a more effective and engaging presenter! 

Setting the Focus on You, Not on Your Slide Deck

I’ve been in love with PowerPoint since middle school. There’s an incredible force behind visual aids to really drive home a point. Often times I am describing concepts along the lines of website design, content, and inbound marketing. Because these concepts can be hard to imagine without real life examples, I tend to use screenshots of a website to help my audience picture what it is I’m trying to explain.

Once my audience understands what a great home page looks like, I have no more use of the image on that slide. But while I am trying to move on to the next topic, my audience may still be staring at the slide behind me, hardly listening to my voice.

You need a way to steer their attention from your slides (a visual prompt) to your voice (an audio prompt). And this is the exact moment to turn to your black slide!

Building Up to an Idea

When you’re presenting an idea to people it helps to start with a blank slate. Because are no words on the black slide, the audience relies on you the presenter to verbally guide them into the next phase of your presentation.

The focus here is on your words; on the detailed verbiage that has been chosen to give your audience a glimpse at your perspective. Choose your words carefully, as there are no visual aids to supplement the image you are recreating in your audience’s mind.

And at the exact moment when your audience feels like they are on the same page with you, you reveal the next slide with a visual representation of your main point to confirm their expectations.

Where Should I Use a Black Slide?

Black slides fit well in a variety of places throughout your presentation. I’ve found some of the best places are just after describing a concept, immediately before presenting a main idea, and transitioning from one topic to the next. You can see an example of how I used a black slide in my recent presentation at M2Con Digital Marketing Conference 2013.

Share Your Thoughts

As a presenter, what are some of the techniques you like to use, or have used, to build a stronger connection with the audience and maintain their attention? Also, would you use the black slide technique in your presentations?

Jump in, friends. I would love to hear your thoughts on this technique!

Your home page- It’s the first impression of your business for many visitors, setting the tone for the conversation between you and your prospective customer. While there’s a lot to say during this initial greeting, it’s best to take things slow. Instead of shoving content down your visitors’ throats only to see your bounce rates skyrocket, let’s focus on the essential elements that your home page needs to create a positive user-experience and build trust.

1. Logo Placement

Keep the logo in the upper left side of the page, as this area of the page tends to attract the most visual attention when people land on your website and lets them know that they’re in the right place.

2. Contact Info

Make it easy for people to contact your business by featuring the phone number in a prominent location on the page. Take that one step further by adding a call-to-action near the phone number so people know why they should call you today.

3. Primary Call-to-Action

This is the conversion trigger- the key action you want visitors to take. The call-to-action typically sends visitors to a Contact page where they complete a form to receive a given offer (or it may simply be telling visitors to call for a consultation). In any event, the call-to-action is a way of converting your website visitor into a lead.

4. Intuitive Navigation

A website’s navigation is like the table of contents. It serves as a reference for the content of your site, and should segment visitors based on their persona or need. The most important pages on your site should be featured in the navigation, though it’s best to cap the horizontal navigation to 7 tabs.

5. Unique and Descriptive Photos

Images help communicate the essence of your offer, painting a visual representation of the text-based description. Perhaps your resort is situated between breathtaking views of the region. You can visually communicate this unique selling point by displaying stunning images of the region and help prospective guests get a feel for staying at your resort.

6. Brief Text Copy

Give your visitors an easy welcome to the website with a concise and descriptive overview of your offer. This not only helps to set the context for your visitors, but also provides search engines with rich content to index.

7. Secondary Call-to-Action

If your primary call-to-action is the most important action users can take on the site, then your secondary call-to-action represents an attempt to maintain top-of-mind awareness. Examples of secondary calls-to-action include Email Subscription Forms and connecting with a company on social media.

8. Trust Symbols

Trust is a key element of your website that tells people whether or not your business is credible. Featuring awards, testimonials, professional certifications and affiliations in an unobtrusive manner can increase your perceived trust and keep the conversation going with prospective customers.